


Play The Game

by edgy_fluffball



Series: Tumblr prompts [10]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF, British Actor RPF
Genre: Ben Is A Child, Gwilym Is A Little (Tall) Shit, Hand Jobs, Hide and Seek, Joe Is Amazing, M/M, Mild Smut, Semi-Public Hand Job, Tumblr Prompt, Walking In On Someone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-06 02:44:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17931326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edgy_fluffball/pseuds/edgy_fluffball
Summary: When Ben and Gwilym visit Joe it is almost impossible to get into trouble. Depending on the definition on trouble. Ben just wanted to duck out of kitchen duty...





	Play The Game

Gwilym came out of the guest room with the parcel they had put together as a hospitality gift. His hair was still slightly damp after the shower he had taken and he felt a single drop of water slide down his back before being soaked up by his shirt.

‘Joe?’

‘Kitchen. Have you seen Ben?’

‘No, I think he went for a shower, too,’ Gwilym set down the bag in front of Joe, ‘we brought this over, it’s an assorted collection of stuff you might not get over here. Ben chose half of them, of course and we will be happy to have whatever you don’t like.’

‘You’re giving me the present you brought me without Ben here to watch with gleaming eyes?’

‘There’s chocolates,’ Gwilym grinned, ‘proper Cadburys.’

‘Better to unpack it without him, then,’ Joe grinned and grabbed the bag, ‘let’s see it then. Chocolates, Spiced Rum, Gin, Scotch, Cider, Percy Pigs – oh nice, Pimm’s! And cookies!’

‘We call them biscuits, you know.’

‘Snob,’ Joe opened a bag of Maltesers, ‘also, how did you get all this into the country?’

‘We split the bottles between us,’ Gwilym snuck a few Maltesers and popped them into his mouth, ‘Ben had a ridiculous idea earlier.’

‘Enlighten me.’

‘He suggested Shot Roulette with all the spirits and alcohols you now have in your house,’ he grinned, knowing that Joe could not possibly refuse the implied suggestion.

‘Oh did he now? Or did you whisper the idea into his pretty head, huh?’

‘That is for me to know and you not to worry about,’ Gwilym looked around in Joe’s kitchen, ‘so what are you cooking tonight?’

‘Boozy risotto, spiced steak and tiramisu,’ Joe whisked something together in a bowl, ‘a proper three course menu for my best pals.’

‘Can I help you with anything?’

‘Nope, I get territorial about working in the kitchen. You go watch TV or get your boyfriend or whatever. Sorry, bad host, I know.’

Gwilym rolled his eyes at him and left the room with a fond look. He went back to the guest room to unpack Ben and his suitcases, Joe had installed a chest of drawers after their last stay and the bunch of clothes he needed to send after them when they left again because living out of suitcases proved to be a messy affair. The guest room had also been equipped with a double bed and a single mattress, Ben had had back pains for days before Joe had invested in it. The unspoken assumption of those back pains being rather unrelated to the mattress itself and more down to the exercises performed on it had caused a moment of awkward silence between them.

Gwilym remembered that last stay fondly, not only because Ben’s complaints about being in pain and trying to soothe his muscles by lounging across furniture in seemingly uncomfortable positions had weirded Joe out. It had also seen Ben being forced to do the dishes and help in the kitchen after he had annoyed both his boyfriend and his host. He had sworn not to be caught in a similar situation ever again, afterwards.

He was about halfway through his own suitcase when he realised that the shower in the adjoining bath room was no longer operating. Looking back, he could not remember hearing the shower at all.

‘Ben? Are you done?’ he asked, opening the door, ‘Joe doesn’t seem to want any help this time, maybe we’ll only get stuck with the washing up.’

The bath room was empty. Gwilym stopped on the threshold and looked around the room, growing confusion on his mind.

‘Ben?’ He went back to the kitchen, frown on his lips, ‘Have you seen Ben? He’s neither in the bath room nor the bedroom.’

‘Have you seriously lost your boyfriend in my house?’ Joe looked up from a chopping board of onions, ‘I can’t believe you two sometimes.’

He turned around to the stove and checked something in one of his pots, ‘Half an hour until dinner’s ready, do you think you’ll be able to find him until then?’

‘Should be manageable,’ Gwilym turned on his heel and made his way back down the hallway, ‘Ben? Come on, where are you? It’s alright, you don’t have to do the dishes yet.’

A faint giggle led him back into the guest bedroom, ‘Ben? Come on, darling, where are you?’

‘Shhh,’ Ben’s husky voice came out from under the bed, ‘you can join me down here, there’s so much space!’

‘What on Earth – why are you under the bed?’ Gwilym bent down and lifted the comforter on one corner, ‘please tell me you are wearing more than that towel.’

‘Sorry babe, I mustn’t lie,’ Ben whispered, ‘my deodorant rolled under the bed, I tried to get it back.’

‘And then you decided you’d stay there?’

‘It’s bloody spacy down here, and Joe actually tidied up before we arrived. Come on Gwil, join me,’ Ben raised a hand and motioned for him to crawl under the bed as well.

He was wrapped in a towel from the waist down, damp hair flopping in his face. Gwilym could see the tattoo on his biceps move as the muscles worked. It looked deliciously wet, adorned with a few water droplets.

‘Come on, Gwil,’ Ben crossed his legs at his ankles, readjusting the towel a moment later, ‘I am in a very cuddly mood all of a sudden.’

‘You are a piece of work,’ Gwilym sighed and pushed himself underneath the bedframe, wiggling every inch of his body into the dark cave made by the comforter which hung down almost to the ground, ‘okay, I’m here. What now?’

Ben pressed a finger to his lips, ‘Hush now, Joe mustn’t hear us. I am not doing the dishes this time.’

Gwilym threw him a curious look and rolled onto his back next to Ben, tangling their fingers together. They lay under the bed, on the soft carpet, for a few minutes.

‘We are lying under the bed,’ Gwilym whispered, letting his head loll to the side, ‘I really don’t get why.’

‘Joe promised me I would be doing the dishes again and I am not going to be there when he looks for me, I decided,’ Ben answered quietly, ‘not this time.’

‘He said he would be half an hour until we could eat.’

‘Probably to fool me into actually going into the kitchen.’

They remained silent for another minute. Gwilym cleared his throat.

‘Were you under the bed when I unpacked your suitcase?’

‘Yes, I meant to thank you for that,’ Ben grinned and squeezed his hand before bringing it to his mouth to press his lips to his knuckles, ‘you are a star.’

‘You are childish,’ Gwilym smiled at him fondly, ‘and I appreciate that. What are you planning on doing when Joe finishes cooking?’

‘I am going to be very, very quiet – and you have to be silent, too. He mustn’t find me, okay? First one to make a noise, loses.’

‘Sounds fair,’ Gwilym looked up at the slatted frame, ‘I hadn’t realised there was so much space between the mattress and the ground, you could fit two people on top of each other under here.’

‘Are you getting any ideas?’ Ben scooted closer to Gwilym and nudged him with his nose, ‘Anything you’d like to try?’

‘How’s your back?’ Gwilym retorted, pressing his lips to Ben’s temple.

‘Fuck off,’ Ben mumbled into his shoulder lazily, dragging his lips over Gwilym’s shirt, ‘you’re comfortable, best pillow ever.’

‘We’ve established that,’ he dotted whatever he could reach of Ben’s face with kisses, ‘remember all those flights?’

Ben’s answer did not reach his ears.

‘Hey guys?’ Joe’s voice piped up from the far end of the house.

Ben’s grip on Gwilym’s hand tightened, squeezing his fingers. Gwilym chuckled under his breath and promptly felt their joint hands dig into his side.

‘Hush!’

‘Food’s almost ready, Ben, would you mind – guys?’

Gwilym could picture Joe peeking into the hallway, waiting for them to emerge from somewhere. It was a mere question of time before he would decide to look for them, leaving the kitchen to walk down the hallway, coming closer and closer to the bedroom and their hideout. Ben seemed to hold his breath, he lay next to him completely motionless.

It was in that exact moment that he had what he would describe as his best idea. Moving slowly, creeping along the line of where their bodies were pressed together he managed to place his hand over the towel.

Ben flinched under his hand, almost knocking his knee into the bedframe in an attempt to trap the hand in between his legs. Gwilym smiled, pleased with himself.

‘What are you –‘

‘First one to make a sound loses,’ Gwilym breathed into his ear.

Then, they heard the steps. Soft and careful, one foot placed in front of the other with breaks when Joe looked into the adjoining rooms. Ben threw his head to the side, breathing into Gwilym’s shirt, the effect of his treatment immediately noticeable. Gwilym could hardly hide his pleasure at seeing his boyfriend lose his countenance so fast.

The door opened and feet appeared in Gwilym’s field of sight, just visible in the slit between the comforter and the floor. The moment he saw Joe’s feet, Gwilym stilled as well – apart from his hand which moved slowly, teasingly under the towel. He could see Ben bite his lips, his eyes fluttered shut and he sucked in shallow breaths.

‘Yes, haha, very funny,’ Joe sounded about as annoyed as Gwilym would be in his situation, ‘oh come on guys, this is very mature! The food is almost ready and I need someone to lay the table.’

Gwilym had to squeeze his eyes shut in order to keep his laughter contained and them undiscovered. It took him every bit of physical strength to keep his coordinated actions up.

‘Fine, I am not playing hide and seek with you,’ Joe’s feet turned and Gwilym could see his heels, ‘fucking children!’

The sound of departing steps made Ben shudder under the mercilessly teasing fingers that edged him further on. A shaky breath left his lips.

Gwilym knew his boyfriend. He knew him inside out. He knew what to expect of him when they were in bed, going on vacation or out in London. He knew his irks and quirks, his habits and giveaways.

And he knew how to respond to them, how reach his goals or prolong his torment. As Ben gasped for air, Gwilym tightened his hold and turned into his boyfriend to press an open-mouthed kiss on his lips, licking into his mouth. It took him all of two seconds to distract him and twist his wrist just right.

‘Jesus Christ,’ Ben shuddered again, violently biting down on his fist.

Gwilym stroked him through the aftershocks, biting back every comment, laughter or remark that burned in his throat. He looked at Ben who used his towel to sort himself out again.

‘You look good like this,’ Gwilym whispered with a smile, ‘can’t you walk around the flat like this more often?’

‘Sure,’ Ben had to clear his throat. He was not moving from his spot on the carpet, looking up at the bedframe, ‘I guess I made a sound there.’

‘Wasn’t too hard, I was in no comparable situation. No possibility for me to make a noise,’ Gwilym moved his head closer to Ben’s.

‘Are you suggesting we repeat this in a similar fashion?’ Ben’s voice seemed to drop an octave as he looked up at Gwilym, eyes sparkling in the dim light provided through the gap between comforter and floor, just enough to let the hallway light fall through.

‘Do whatever you want to do – but please be aware that I can hear you from the hallway when you’re talking.’

‘Shit,’ Gwilym scrambled out from under the bed, tugging his shirt down that had begun to ride up as he slid over the carpet, ‘Joe, I didn’t hear you come in again.’

‘That’s because I didn’t really leave. I was one step into the hallway when I could hear Ben swear. And since you were obviously trying to hide from helping out in the kitchen, I decided to catch you red-handed.’

Gwilym was halfway through thinking of a response when he saw the shit-eating grin on Joe’s face, only thinly veiled by outrage. He looked like the cat that got the cream and seemed only too comfortable standing in the room Ben and Gwillym were supposed to occupy during their stay – even with Ben still underneath the bed.

‘Furthermore,’ Joe’s eyes found Gwilym’s as he bent down slightly, closer to the bed, ‘a good host might want to check on his guests every now and then to offer maximum satisfaction and pleasure.’

A restrained groan reached their ears from under the bed and Gwilym shook his head, ‘You are cruel.’

‘You just tried to play hide-and-seek with me in my own home, Ben, leaving me to man the kitchen. Not very friendly of you. Now, Gwil, join me in laying the table. Has Benny-boy had his shower yet?’

Gwilym stared at him, unable to process the fact that Joe seemed on something comparable to his nephew and nieces’ sugar rushes. He allowed himself to be dragged away by Joe, towards the kitchen and the invitingly open cabinets that held the dishes and cutlery that needed laying out.

‘Joe, uhm, I’m so sorry –‘

‘Don’t you dare apologise!’ Joe returned to the stove, dipping a spoon into the risotto pan, ‘ you got Ben and I’m happy for the two of you. Even if you can’t even keep your hands off each other in my house. Which is, truth be told, disrespectful, knowing that I merely have my beautiful cardboard boy to keep me company at night. Taste!’

He shoved the spoon at Gwilym who obediently opened his mouth for it, ‘Tastes amazing!’

‘Of course it does, it’s my mum’s recipe. Now, am I to expect blushing school girls casting glances over the table during dinner or can you guys pretend you didn’t just play under the bed I bought for you after the last time you had the mattress squeaking? You are here three hours, you haven’t even tried the new mattress, yet?’

‘Are you honestly complaining about us not doing it in your guest bed?’ Ben entered the kitchen in a fresh shirt and shorts, his hair still damp and unruly. The sight made Gwilym’s stomach flutter.

‘Yes!’ Joe crossed his arms over his chest, ‘I went the extra mile there for you and you prefer the carpet? What are you, animals?’

‘To be fair,’ Ben took three plates out of the cabinet, ‘I was just trying to duck out of kitchen duty. It all went south when Gwilym joined me.’

‘I know, baby,’ Joe pecked his cheek, ‘I know, the tall man seduced you. It’s not your fault. Now sit up, I have three courses to feed to you!’

Ben leaned into the hand petting his hair, sending Gwilym a content smile. His boyfriend simply shook his head. In his mind, he formed an idea of how to get back at Ben for his cheek.


End file.
